Sunday, April 25, 2010

Deja Vu All Over Again - 2010 Ruth Anderson Ultras (April 17, 2010)

Barring the actors, some of whom starred in the 2009 version of the races, the stage was almost a carbon copy of 2009. The morning was a tad warmer but the bulk of the day was equally warm and wonderful as the 2009 one.

This small race is definitely becoming more and more popular as is evident from the record number of registered runners and starters, 87 and 83 respectively. The 78 people who successfully finished one of the 3 distances made for a new high for RA Finishers. Course Records and Age Group records were set on a perfect day for racing.

Congratulations to all of you who toed the Start line at 6:30 a.m. To those of you who dropped out before reaching your race goal distance I wish you achieve the result you desire in your very next race.

50K

Consistency is what stands out when one looks at Todd Braje's splits for the 6 full laps of Lake Merced. Each of the 4.5 mile laps was done in 28 minutes +/- a few seconds. He went on to win the race in 3:15:38, setting a new 50K Course Record by almost 3.5 minutes. He truly made it look effortless. Coming in second behind Todd, in 3:33:49, was Toshikazu Hosaka.

The Women's 50K race was won by one of the RhoQuick runners, Miki Yannoni, in 4:07:43.She too made it look easy. Her time is also the new F 40-49 Age Group CR.

Kelly Cronin, not far behind Miki, crossed the Finish line in 4:13:39 to finish second.

Laura Guest ran a 4:39:04 to set a new F 20-29 Age Group CR.

Jonathan Huerta, all of 14 years old, knocked off almost 2 hours from his 2009 50K time! His eventual finish time was 5:47:25. Nishad Singh, Anu Singh's (she ran 7:01:37) son, was the other 14-year old to run the 50K. In his first race of this distance, he pushed hard in the last mile to finish in 6:59:43.

50M

The Men's 50M race was won by Joseph Binder. He literally barreled and slid his way through the North Aid Station on his way to a superb 5:37:46. He broke Thomas Reiss's Course Record by a whopping 19 minutes!

Jean Pommier looked smooth and efficient on his way to a 6:07:34 that earned him second place. He is now the proud owner of the M 40-49 Age Group CR.

Megan Deverin ran steady 41-44 minute laps to win the Women's 50M race in 7:46:13. Her time is also the new W 20-29 Age Group CR.

Wendy Georges, the Women's 2009 100K winner, finished second in 8:08:42. This time was good enough to earn her the W 50-59 Age Group CR.

100K

Jon Olsen looked very good on his way to a 100K triumph. His eventual finish time was 7:32:29. We had him break the winner's tape twice just so we could get a picture of him. He ran the last 30 feet all over again for us with a smile on his face.

Pierre Yves-Couteau, Assistant RD of the Quicksilver 25K/50K/50M (May 8), just squeaked in under 8 hours (7:59:48) to finish second behind Jon.

The Women's race was the closest affair of all the races. It was inspiring to watch Yang Shin and Suzanna Bon fight it out over the last mile. Suzanna went on to cross the Finish line 9 seconds ahead of Yang in 9:38:31.

Suzanna, representing the US in the World 24-Hour championships next month in France, went on to run 3 more laps to finish the day with a tad over 75 miles. Good luck to her in the 24-hour Championship.

Sponsors

Don and Gillian from Zombierunner

Zombierunner has supported this race for a long time now and 2010 was no exception. The gingerchews/candy and the Chap stick are a Zombie tradition!

I am thankful to Ultrarunner and Trail Runner for the free magazines that went into your goodie bags.

Volunteers

I love my friends very much. They are the wind beneath my RD wings!

Steve "RD Extraordinaire" Jaber

No praise is high enough for the amazing person who once captained the Ruth Anderson ship. Knowing that he is around gives me a huge boost of confidence. He is Mr. Efficiency as far as I am concerned! I called him RD Extraordinare last year and the title still holds.

Stan "Ubiquitous" Jensen

Patiently updating the list of race entrants ever day in the last week, taking phone calls during the race from the 50K and 50M timers who were calling in with finish times and e-mailing me the race splits an hour after we had disbanded is just amazing. He is another person whose efficiency is wondrous. His love for the sport has always been evident and we are all grateful for his help.

Dave "Peripatetic" Combs

Dave Combs is another person I admire. He is one of the first to show up in a race and one of the last to leave. He makes it very easy to lean on him.

Lily Patil

She drove up with me early in the morning and helped out all day in the North AS. She even paced Bharti Dudhela for a lap during Bharti's 50K run.

Darshan Thaker

Ze Grill Master!!! Vat can I say? Ze Indian "crepes" (dosas) were awesome as was the dal "soup". You are now the official Grill Master for the race. Thank you very, very much for the pains you went to in order to give the runners great food after their race.

Mark Nassi

He came in very early, helped set up Race Central and then spent many hours working with Stan Jensen and Dave Combs in the scorer's tent.

Jonathan Gunderson

Jonathan, too, came in early and helped out for many, many hours in the North AS.

Baldwyn Chieh

He rode to the race with Mark Tanaka and spent the next 9 hours volunteering and taking pictures.

Anand Rangarajan

He helped out in the North As during the hours when the runners were coming in alomst every other minute!

Diane and Keara Forrest

For the second year in a row, this mother and daughter team lit up the North AS with their laughter and help. As far as I am concerned they have permanent duties, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., in future RA races. By the way, they drive down from Sacramento.

Sandy Baker and Jennifer Blake

They drove down with Diane and Keara and helped make the North AS the festive place it was.

Thank you, dahlings!

Shishir Ramam

Like last year, this dear friend of mine was another one I could and did lean heavily on. He started off by taking pictures, went on to help out in the South AS and then spent many long hours sitting all alone on a chair as the 50M timer. Thank you, my friend.

Roli Khattri

She helped out in the North AS and spent many hours selling race T-shirts (she did a good job - I am within $50 of having enough money to retire!).

Manjula Jonnalagada and Kalyani Subra

Manjula has now helped 3 years in a row. Thank you both for driving up and helping out in the North AS.

Leslie Carboni

Still too soon to come back from a running injury, Leslie decided to crew Grant, her husband, and eventually wound up replacing Mark Nassi as Stan and Dave's right hand (wo)man. Thank you!

Naren Dudhela

He picked up lunch sandwiches for all the volunteers and went on to become one of the race photographers.

Vivek Kumar

He showed up early and helped out with pre-race activities. He was our coffee angel in the first few hours of the day. Good luck in Miwok, my friend.

Zach Landman

Like last year, he volunteered in the South AS from 6:00 a.m. and then switched duties to become the 50K timer.

Bill Dodson

He decided to volunteer instead of run RA this year and became your 50K timer along with Zach Landman.

Sandip Borle

He spent the early hours of the day volunteering in the SOuth AS. Thank you for showing up and helping, my friend.

Anil Vaidya

He drove to my home the previous evening, loaded hos car with South AS stuff and duly transported them to the AS along with 5 lbs. of boiled potatoes. Another friend I lean heavily on.

Suchitra Vaidya

Anil Vaidya's wife, she is the one who boiled the 5 lbs. of potatoes that Anil had as ultra fare in his AS.

Bharti Dudhela

In spite of having a 50K to run the next morning, Bharti was sweet enough to boil my other 5 lb. bag of potatoes for the North AS.

Pratima Gupta

She manned the South AS in the early hours, when it was at its busiest, and did a stellar job. Hugs to you, babe!

Chandramouli Balasubramanian, Krishna Kumaraswamy & Gargi Nalwade

They were the second shift in the South AS and did a stellar job too.

Mohan Thirumale

Mohan is another friend who has now shown up in all 3 editions of the Rajeev Ruth Anderson race. Thank you, buddy.

Brajesh Upadhyay

He and Mohan took care of the South AS from 2:00 p.m. onwards

Chandrakala Kappana & Vivek Rai

These two dear friends have been volunteering for 3 years now and they do a fantastic job of making the South AS a welcoming place for the runners. Hugs to you both.

Sandhya Ramam & Megha Chawla

Thank you both for taking care of the South AS during its least busiest hours of the day. You two rock!

Anu Singh

She drove up the weekend before the race with me to race storage and helped Steve Jaber and me with race stuff. I have used her van every year of this race as my race vehicle. Thank you, doll.

I will reiterate my thanks to all of the excellent volunteers. As usual, you were great. I'll echo Mark Tanaka's sentiments, sorry I didn't smile very much. For me, it's more of a concentration issue. When I'm in a race, I'm constantly thinking (or trying to ) about what I might need, or be forgetting to take, when I'm entering or about to leave an Aid Station. Most of you know that I spend little or no time at Aid Stations, especially in this race, where we take only 20-25 minutes between Aid Stations.

Charles Blakeney

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So, with the volunteers included in the emails, let me say THANK YOU! I signed up for the 50K to run 31 miles for my 31st birthday (which was April 10). I was terribly sick on my actual birthday with a terrible head cold and it still lingered on race day. Thanks to you all for giving me paper towels to blow my nose at every aid station :). I actually felt very strong and finished feeling very very good. I played with the idea of running the 50 miler (even though I didn't really train for it), but decided to stop at 50K to get home to my sweet 8 month old son. Many volunteers/runners might have heard me mention him, so here are weblinks that have his smiley face. Thanks again and I'll be back next year!!!

Once again, you put on a great race. Your sweetness was all over it, which adds so much to the fun. It's my one chance too to see Steve and your volunteers were all wonderful. Thanks so much for taking it over from Amy and John, this race should never die.

Wendy Georges

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Rajeev,

Of course I appreciate all of the volunteers and even the RD. I tried to thank everyone in person but in case I didn't, I'll send a separate e-mail to them. As usual, it was a well run race. What was unusual was the incredibly good weather. I don't know how you managed to get us such good weather but thanks.

Todd Hayes

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Thanks again for a great race Rajeev and all your communicative energy. Thanks to all the volunteers, I very much enjoyed the day.